Blade arrives at Castellón

November 15 - The first LM Wind 73.5-m wind turbine blade arrived at the Port of Castellón, Spain on October 20, destined for the Merkur offshore wind farm in Germany.

Gruas Aguado transported the blade, which will power GE's Haliade 150-6 MW turbine, from LM Wind's factory in Castellón 45 km to the port by road.

According to LM Wind, it is the largest blade ever produced and transported through Spain; it reflects the fast development of the wind industry to continuously introduce longer and more complex blades.

The transport of the blade required more than one year of planning and analysis of road conditions by LM Wind Power and GE. In total, 198 LM 73.5 P blades will be shipped to the Merkur site.

Laurent Verdier, GE's offshore wind business project office leader, said: "The onshore assembly hub was opened some weeks ago in Eemshaven, the Netherlands, and is ready for receiving the wind turbine main components, including blades, and preparing the offshore installation works that is expected to start in February 2018."

The Merkur wind farm is located approximately 35 km north of Borkum, Germany in the North Sea and, when completed, will consist of 66 turbines.